1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to electrical connectors, and more particularly, to an electrical connector having a reduced contact footprint.
2. Description of the Related Art
Digital devices have been developed that use removable modules for expanding the capabilities of the device. These modules are removably coupled to the device to providing additional memory capacity, functionality, or both. Connectors have been developed for interfacing the modules with the device. Because the modules have the potential for frequent handling by the user of the device, the connector must effectively couple the module to the device electrically and mechanically. One application for a removable module is to provide a memory pack (flash or dynamic RAM) for a digital camera. The memory pack stores images captured by the digital camera (not shown), and may be frequently removed to transfer images or to attach an unused memory pack (i.e., similar to changing the film in a typical camera).
One such module is called a mini-card. An elastomeric connector having alternating vertical layers of conductive and non-conductive elastomer is mounted by compression to the camera printed circuit board. The elastomeric connector is compressed to fit in a notch in the mini-card. The compression causes the conductive layers to form an electrical connection between the camera printed circuit board contacts and the corresponding mini-card contacts. The elastomeric material of the connector is subject to age and environmental based degradation, causing the quality of the electrical connections thereto to vary over the life of the camera. The material and mounting methods used with the elastomeric connector make it unsuitable for production methods such as surface mounting where the components are heated during the mounting process.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above.